Today’s Big Story

The Apple Car Is Dead

The tech giant is officially winding down the automotive effort after a decadelong odyssey

Is this really it? Tuesday saw a storm of headlines announcing that Apple has officially canceled its on-again, off-again automotive project called “Project Titan”. Instead, it's said that many of the employees who were working on the car will now focus on generative AI. According to Automotive News, citing unnamed internal sources, the announcement was made early Tuesday to employees by two company executives.

While Apple had not unveiled its car to consumers, of course, the product had for many years been one of Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secrets because early prototypes were being tested on public roads and well-known proving grounds. Plus, it’s difficult to work on anything for the better part of a decade and not have some rumors swirl. But the cancellation is a rare move by Apple, which typically doesn’t shelve such public and high-profile projects.

Some people were already anticipating the news though. Bloomberg had already reported that the company had pushed back the Apple Car’s launch date to 2028 from 2026. And the vehicle itself was not going to be as cool or groundbreaking as many people had hoped. Gear Patrol points out that Apple’s car program had been targeting Level 4 autonomy, which would mean the car could drive itself on public roads. “Achieving that could have meant launching a car without a steering wheel and pedals. Elon Musk keeps promising that technology is just around the corner from Tesla. But most industry players are coming to the realization it’s far further away than we thought.”

Recent reports have said that Apple was ratcheting back ambitions to launch the Apple Car with Level 2+ driver assistant software—similar to GM’s hands-free Super Cruise technology. Level 4 autonomy would have come later — perhaps to cars that were already hardware-ready for it. Tech influencer Marques Brownlee had an interesting take: “Apple has realized they don't need to make a whole car to control the entire car software experience,” he posted on X. “Car manufacturers are so bad at software that everyone just puts CarPlay on anyway.” Which made me think about how Apple was rumored to make a TV set for a while, but we didn’t need the screen. Just the little box that brings the content, controls and intuitive design to it. But still … I’d love to see what an Apple car would’ve looked like, wouldn’t you?

Biden and Trump Both Win Michigan Primaries

It’s setting the stage for the inevitable rematch, but “uncommitted” votes demanded attention

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won the Michigan primaries on Tuesday, further solidifying the all-but-certain rematch between the two men. But the Associated Press says that early results from the state were highlighting some of their biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the general election.

For Biden, the notable percentage of voters (we’re talking tens of thousands) cast ballots for "uncommitted" instead of the sitting president. That is signaling a weakness with parts of the Democratic base in a state he can hardly afford to lose in November. The war in Gaza has hurt Biden with some of the Arab American and Muslim voters who were key to his 2020 win in the swing state. Did you know that Michigan has the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the nation?

Trump, meanwhile, has underperformed with suburban voters and people with college degrees, and faces a faction within his own party that believes he broke the law in one or more of the criminal cases against him. And despite losing out to Trump yet again, Nikki Haley has vowed to continue her campaign through at least Super Tuesday on March 5. She’s recently been arguing that her vote share is a sign of vulnerability for her party’s front-runner—pointing to a decent swath of GOP primary voters who have continued to support her despite Trump’s sturdy grip on the Republican Party as a whole.

Another 4-Day Workweek Success Story

Most U.K. firms stick with it after taking part in the world’s biggest trial

One year after the conclusion of the world’s biggest trial of a four-day workweek, a large majority of companies that took part were still allowing their employees to work a shorter week. CNBC reports that of the 61 British companies that took part in a six-month pilot in 2022, at least 54 (89%) said the policy was still in place, while 31 firms (51%) said they had permanently switched to a four-day working week.

The study was released Wednesday by Autonomy, a think tank that ran the 2022 trial with several nonprofits in partnership with researchers from Cambridge and Oxford universities, and Boston College. The effects of reduced working hours have been overwhelmingly beneficial for staff and their companies, according to the report. Workers report higher job satisfaction now than before the trial began and researchers were pleased to report that the long-term study proved it’s not a novelty effect.

“People are feeling really on top of their work with this new model,” sociologist Juliet Schor of Boston College, who's part of the research team, told NPR. Will the trend continue to grow? Can we expect it to become more common here in the U.S.? One employment attorney told CBS News that it just might. He say the key is productivity and morale advantages, which can outweigh any challenges. “It’s a balance worth pursuing especially when we've got this ongoing talent war, we've got issues with employee attraction, employee retention.”

Dry January Extends

New data and surveys suggest the non-alcoholic market is growing steadily

Did you give up booze in the new year? A lot of people reset with Dry January, but apparently many have decided to stick with it, even though we’re wrapping up February. According to Axios, the search term “Dry February” is being Googled more than ever in the U.S.—with search interest up 30% over February 2023.

Also, the country’s hottest-selling beer at the moment is the non-alcoholic brand Athletic Brewing. I’ll admit, I’ve seen those cans around a lot and never realized it was non-alcoholic. In fact, while alcoholic beer sales are fairly flat, non-alcoholic beer sales are on the rise. What’s more, only 62% of adults under 35 say they drink, down from 72% two decades ago, according to the latest Gallup data.

InsideHook says one of the biggest reasons for the shift towards the non-alc options is people prioritizing health concerns related to longevity and sleep. Admittedly, a lot of the information presented here is anecdotal or based on people’s survey responses and internet searches. However, those beer sales are real, even beyond Athletic’s numbers: Non-alcoholic beer sales were around $42.7 million in January, over three times their sales just four years ago.

Set your intentions.